TROPE: The use of a word, phrase, or image in a way not intended by its normal usage.

SCHEME: A change in standard word order or pattern.Tropes and schemes are collectively known as figures of speech [i.e., figurative language]. Think of Figurative Language in this way: A writer creatively uses words either (1.) to explain something otherwise difficult or (2.) to draw attention to something deemed important. By using words figuratively, the writer often changes their original meaning or intent. Generally speaking, figurative language is fun, fanciful, and imagination.

For example

"She's hot!" (Most likely, the person uttering such a proclamation is referring to a person's beauty and not body temperature.)

“Freedom—you are a beguiling mistress.” (How can a person speak to freedom, which is only an abstract concept? Such fanciful approaches are characteristic of figurative language. What is normal or standard is flipped over or turned about.)

Figures help enhance a person's style of writing. If used moderately and correctly figures of speech can enhance the work. Even Aristotle states that "the rule of moderation applies to all the constituents of the poetic vocabulary." (p. 1478) He further establishes that the figures of speech used in poetry need to be used properly and in moderation to invoke the intended effect.Here follows a short list of some of the most common figures of speech relevant to the AP Language & Composition exam. Students should be able to recognize such unusual choices made by a writer and be able to explain why the writer made such a choice. The terminology, however, is often not important. Of the following terms, only the following need to be known by name: Antithesis, apostrophe, hyperbole, irony, understatement, metaphor, metonymy, oxymoron, personification, pun, simile, and rhetorical question.Anastrophe: A scheme in which normal word order is changed for emphasis. Example: "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."Antithesis: A scheme that makes use of contrasting words, phrases, sentences, or ideas for emphasis (generally used in parallel grammatical structures). Examples: "Americans in need are not strangers, they are citizens, not problems, but priorities."Apostrophe: A scheme in which a person or an abstract quality is directly addressed, whether present or not. Examples: "O eloquent, just, and mighty Death!" --Sir Walter Raleigh History of the World ; "O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree..." ; "Out Damn Spot" -- Shakespeare's "Macbeth"; “Freedom—you are a beguiling mistress.” Auxesis (aux E sis). Greek: "increase, amplification." An auxesis is magnifying the importance of something by giving it another name. Heightening a word and using it in place of a common word. Also, it can nr the opposite of Meiosis. Examples: The defendant described the plaintiff's paper cut as a "wound." ; "titan of industry" ; A three dollar Coke at the ball game is "highway robbery." This term is closely related to hyperbole.

Hyperbole: A trope composed of exaggerated words or ideals used for emphasis and not to be taken literally. Example: "I've told you a million times not to call me a liar!"Irony: A trope in which a word or phrase is used to mean the opposite of its literal meaning. Example: "I just love scrubbing the floor."Litotes (or Understatement): A trope in which one makes a deliberate understatement for emphasis. Example: Young lovers are kissing and an observer says: "I think they like each other."Metaphor: A trope in which a word or phrase is transferred from its literal meaning to stand for something else. Unlike a simile, in which something is said to be "like" something else, a metaphor says something is something else. Example: "Debt is a bottomless sea."Metonymy: A trope that substitutes an associated word for one that is meant. Example: Using "top brass" to refer to military officers.Oxymoron: A trope that connects two contradictory terms. Example: “Bill is a cheerful pessimist.”Periphrasis: A trope in which one substitutes a descriptive word or phrase for a proper noun. Example: “The big man upstairs hears your prayers.”Personification: A trope in which human qualities or abilities are assigned to abstractions or inanimate objects. Example: “Integrity thumbs its nose at pomposity.”Pun: A play on words in which a homophone is repeated but used in a different sense. Examples: “She was always game for any game."Rhetorical Question: A trope in which the one asks a leading question. Example: "With all the violence on TV today, is it any wonder kids bring guns to school?"Simile: A trope in which one states a comparison between two things that are not alike but have similarities. Unlike metaphors, similes employ "like" or "as." Example: "Her eyes are as blue as a robin's egg."CLICK HERE to read as a reporter describe the effects of hurricane-force winds through similes.

Synecdoche: A trope in which a part stands for the whole. Example: "Tom just bought a fancy new set of wheels."Zeugma: A trope in which one verb governs several words, or clauses, each in a different sense. Example: “He stiffened his drink and his spine.”

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.